Belgium

A cyber attack on Belgacom raised considerable attention last week. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and seen by SPIEGEL indicate that Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency was responsible for the attack. more...[ Comment ]

Demonstrators across Europe joined forces on Wednesday to protest tough austerity measures that have been imposed to battle the debt crisis threatening the common currency. The situation grew tense in Spain, but the effects of the protests could also be felt in Portugal and Greece. more...

They were just municipal elections, but a Flemish separatist party emerged as the clear winner. In addition to posing renewed problems for the future of Belgium, the vote is symbolic in a European Union where solidarity among member states is rapidly disappearing, German editorialists say on Tuesday. more...

The debt crisis is fueling the fortunes of separatists in a handful of European Union countries. Affluent regions in Spain, Britain, Belgium and Italy no longer feel a sense of solidarity with poorer parts of their own countries -- but they want to remain part of the EU. By Fiona Ehlers, Hans Hoyng, Christoph Schult and Helene Zubermore...

Built as a temporary structure for the Brussels World's Fair in 1958, the massive molecule known as the Atomium has since become the city's best known landmark -- and is shinier than ever thanks to 2006 renovations. Now, the monument must be cleaned twice a year, which is more difficult than it sounds. more...

The Belgian North Sea resort of Knokke-Heist suffered a wave of cancellations after a newspaper reported that the weather would be bad this summer. Now the mayor plans to sue the newspaper and the meteorological service for damages. more...

Belgium's new prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday on his first official visit to Germany. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the Socialist voices doubts about German ideas for solving the euro crisis, such as introducing balanced-budget laws across the EU, and argues for more efforts to boost growth. more...

Police have found a woman's body at the home of the man who went on a killing spree in Liege, Belgium on Tuesday. With that discovery, the death toll now stands at four. Police say the killer was a known "gun freak" and had been arrested on weapons charges before. more...

An attacker armed with grenades and an assault rifle killed three people and injured dozens in Liege, Belgium, before killing himself on Tuesday. The 33-year-old man, who had a criminal record, went on the rampage in the heart of the city. more...

The European banking crisis claimed its first victim on Monday: The Dexia group will be broken up. The Belgian government is paying 4 billion euros to acquire the company's operations in that country. Meanwhile, the Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments all plan to provide billions in guarantees. more...